Aw, my blog is twenty posts old – if it gets to 21, do I have to buy it a car or something?

Two pieces of news this week. The first I’ve been sitting on for ages but haven’t been able to post about at the editor’s request. However, he’s put details on his site, so I figure it must be okay to shout about it. I’m incredibly pleased to announce that Church on the Island has been picked for Steve Jones’ Very Best of Best New Horror . This is being released in a limited edition hardback signed by all the contributors, and then a normal paperback (out in 2010, I think). This is a huge honour, especially when you look at the full contents:

INTRODUCTION: BETTERING THE BEST

Ramsey Campbell

NO SHARKS IN THE MED

Brian Lumley

THE MAN WHO DREW CATS

Michael Marshall Smith

THE SAME IN ANY LANGUAGE

Ramsey Campbell

NORMAN WISDOM AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH

Christopher Fowler

MEFISTO IN ONYX

Harlan Ellison

THE TEMPTATION OF DR STEIN

Paul J. McAuley

QUEEN OF KNIVES

Neil Gaiman

THE BREAK

Terry Lamsley

EMPTINESS SPOKE ELOQUENT

Caitlín R Kiernan

MR. CLUBB AND MR. CUFF

Peter Straub

WHITE

Tim Lebbon

THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT: ANNO DRACULA, 1981

Kim Newman

CLEOPATRA BRIMSTONE

Elizabeth Hand

20TH CENTURY GHOST

Joe Hill

THE WHITE HANDS

Mark Samuels

MY DEATH

Lisa Tuttle

HAECKEL’S TALE

Clive Barker

DEVIL’S SMILE

Glen Hirshberg

THE CHURCH ON THE ISLAND

Simon Kurt Unsworth

THE NEW YORK TIMES AT SPECIAL BARGAIN RATES

Stephen King

Very Best of Best New Horror cover

I mean, Holy GOD! I’m in an anthology with Clive Barker, Peter Straub and Stephen King! STEPHEN KING! Details of the antho can be found on the second page of the Coming Soon section of Stephen Jones’ website (link below). To be considered the author of one of the best 20 stories from a collection that has printed something like 250 stories over the years is really quite fantastic, and means my head has swelled even more than normal…

The other news this week is that the final contents list for the excellent-looking Gaslight Grotesque anthology has been released. There’s some people I don’t know in there, which is really good, but also contributions from Barbara Roden, Mark Morris, Stephen Volk, Willie Miekle, Jeff Campbell and GWP editor Neil Jackson (in his first story sale – way to go Neil!) The full listing is:

Hounded by Stephen VolkThe Death Lantern by Lawrence C. ConnollyThe Quality of Mercy by William MeikleEmily’s Kiss by James A. MooreThe Tragic Case of the Child Prodigy by William Patrick MaynardThe Last Windigo by Hayden TrenholmCeleste by Neil JacksonThe Best Laid Plans by Robert LauderdaleExalted Are the Forces of Darkness by Leigh BlackmoreThe Affair of the Heart by Mark MorrisThe Hand Delivered Letter by Simon K. UnsworthOf the Origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles by Barbara RodenMr. Other’s Children by J.R. Campbell

Gaslight Grotesque is available to preorder from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (and, as an aside, Creature Feature is also available through amazon.co.uk).

Okay, that’s pretty much it for today. May have reviews next week, or news on new writing – the mysterious fruit story stalled this week (as did all writing-related stuff because, basically, I couldn’t be bothered) but will hopefully be done by the end of the week. I’m also aiming to type up/redraft the ‘people into animals’ story, plus I have ideas for a new tale or two I want to start on. Soon, Lords and Ladies. Soon.